Tesla launches Model Y with seven seats in the U.S., but not the one you want

Tesla's Model Y in the U.S. can now be bought with a third row of seats – but this is not the larger, six-seater Model Y L that the company is selling in China.

Instead, the third row of seats, which is a $2,500 option for the Tesla Model Y Premium and Performance trims, has simply been squeezed into the current Model Y's trunk.

Yes, it brings the total number of seats in the Model Y to seven, but most adults won't be able to sit in that third row, making it usable mostly for families with small kids.

In contrast, the Chinese Model YL has a larger wheelbase (making the car 186mm longer), and a pretty respectable amount of legroom in the third row. The difference is obvious even in Tesla's official images; check out the Model YL's third row pic below.

Now that's a respectable third row. Credit: Tesla

The seven seater Model Y configuration that Tesla now offers in the U.S. was offered in the U.S. and Europe in the past, and it didn't last very long; we'll see if this one fares any better.

This is not the only change to the Model Y in the U.S., though. The company introduced a number of very subtle changes to the Premium and Performance trims (the Standard variant didn't get any of these).

The new Helix wheels do look a lot better than the old ones, we think. Credit: Tesla

These include new, 20'' Helix 2.0 wheels which are now dark grey instead of silver, darker interior headliner, black instead of silver badges on the back of the car, and a larger, 16-inch main display (up from 15.4 inches).